Hello all. I have struggled for a long time with the issue of being the lone Atheist in a heavily armed Evangelical family. Tonight, it just became too much. I currently live in Japan. My wife and I will return, might return, if she can get her visa. Now, with our situation of me living here too, I am unable to sponsor my wife since I have no American employment and need to have a family member sponsor her instead. My whole family basically declined to help with the exception of my sister. She has been kind enough to sponsor her AND give us a place to stay. And I have been grateful. Tonight, near the end of the two year process, literally days away if the US Embassy approves my wife, my sister tells me I am expected to attend church. I said maybe sometimes, but I am not going to pretend to believe. This caused a backlash. The drama is too much to repeat, but lets just say I'm in a situation where I am forced to conform. It's like a hostage situation and I don't know what to do. I can't understand how a family member could exploit something like this to push an agenda. Many harsh things were said and I was told that I was an ungrateful brat. I agreed to go! When I asked her if she would attend temple with my Buddhist wife or a museum of science with me I got a lecture about how those were places of Satan. How dare I ask her for equal treatment? Is it just me, or is this ridiculous? Advice? She is literally my only shot at getting home anytime in the next few years and she knows it. I know that regardless of my cooperation she will help me, but I am now and forever going to be reminded daily how she helped me and I spit in her face. I always thought family helped family just because it is the right thing to do. My forhead arteries are twitching. Please! Help!

Perhaps the best solution would be to go along with it for now, pretend to care if you must, then the second you can, find an apartment or something and get away from that.

However, I feel somewhat guilty about handing that advice out, because I know I would never follow it. I have too short a temper to deal with the shit without punches being thrown.

The people closely associated with the namesake of female canines are suffering from a nondescript form of lunacy.
"Anti-environmentalism is like standing in front of a forest and going 'quick kill them they're coming right for us!'" - Jake Farr-Wharton, The Imaginary Friend Show.

Well, there comes a time when even the best of us have to suck up to scum.

No offence, dude.

The people closely associated with the namesake of female canines are suffering from a nondescript form of lunacy.
"Anti-environmentalism is like standing in front of a forest and going 'quick kill them they're coming right for us!'" - Jake Farr-Wharton, The Imaginary Friend Show.